'Donut move, the baby's coming': Krispy Kreme delivery

Emma Clarke
Journalist
Emma has worked as a journalist in regional Queensland for four years, including Biloela and Rockhampton and most recently in Ipswich. Having previously covered the court and general news rounds, Emma is now the digital producer at the Queensland Times.

Mum Annette Triffitt delivered her new daughter in the front seat of the family Prado, parked in the Krispy Kreme doughnuts complex carpark at Redbank Plains, while dad Dwayne helped and daughter Abigail patted mum's forehead.

It was late at night last Sunday when Ms Triffitt lay awake, kept up by Gracie's kicking, contractions and regular loo breaks.

"Dwayne gave me a kiss on my forehead as I laid my head on his chest with another contraction, I didn't get a chance to tell him. He thankfully figured it out," she said.

The trio made it less than five minutes from home when Annette's waters broke at the traffic lights.

"We got to Old School Rd and I said to hubby 'you need to pull over and call an ambulance'. He went to turn right after the lights and I said 'no, not here, down there, anywhere'.

"The poor guy was confused."

Dwayne and Annette Triffitt were surprised to have their baby Gracie in the carpark of a new Redbank Plains shopping complex.Rob Williams

Dwayne steered into the Krispy Kreme and Caltex complex.

"In the middle of another contraction I was pointing, waving, directing 'there, there, there'," Annette said.

"The poor man. He quickly pulled in and around to a car park up in the corner of the Krispy Kreme car park.

"As another contraction came Abigail started to cry as now I could feel little Gracie wasn't going to wait.

"Until then I think he thought we had time however in that instant Gracie's head crowned and then it all became real to my husband and I that this little girl wasn't waiting.

"I looked at my husband and saw his hands shaking and I remember hearing him say to the Triple-000 operator 'my baby is coming'. Now this is a man who loves his Game of Thrones and blood and guts but seeing me or our kids in pain and he can get queezy.

Dwayne and Annette Triffitt were surprised to have their baby Gracie in the carpark of a new Redbank Plains shopping complex.Rob Williams

"Abigail rubbed my head and started to settle right as I gave one more push that brought our Gracie into this world in the front seat of my Prado."

Gracie was in Annette's arms but the umbilical cord was wrapped twice around the new baby's neck, restricting her air ways.

"I was waiting to hear her cry but all I could hear where little gasping noises," she said.

"Then I realised the cord was wrapped around our little girl's throat - twice. I tried to pull it away but it was too tight. I tried to tear it but it was too strong so I quickly put my thumb between the two rings wrapped around her throat and instantly she gave a little cough and gasp.

"Thankfully I got another burst of energy and gave it my all to pull the very tightly tangled umbilical cord loose from our little girl. Finally our baby girl cried and was now laying on my chest, when our darling little Abigail leant forward and gently rubbed her sister's head.

"Hubby was still standing and last I remember before being driven off in the ambulance was seeing him and our well behaved little girl standing at the back of the ambulance watching over Gracie and I.

Baby Gracie Lee Triffitt was born at 4am on January 8, weighing a tiny 2922 grams.

Army of help for dramatic birth

MUM Annette Triffitt was not the only hero in baby Gracie Lee's surprise car park delivery.

Gracie's dad, Dwayne, and sister, Abigail, were there but Annette said the situation would have been a whole lot more dramatic without the help of dedicated midwives, Triple-000 operators are paramedics.

"Megan and Tara were our awesome ambulance officers," she said.

"They did a fantastic job.

"It took a bit to get Gracie's temp up but thankfully we all arrived safe and sound at the hospital where I was pleased to find the midwife Michaela on shift.

"Michaela you made a highly stressful situation that little bit more relaxed for me by giving me direct, clear instructions andand the midwife who sat with me and went through everything and took care of brekky for our daughter and myself and entertained Abigail, who can be shy and very protective of mummy."

She said the Triple-000 operator helped calm a frantic Dad. "A big thank you to the emergency operator for helping my husband through it all. Without your help I don't know where we'd be, even if I wasn't really listening you were a fantastic help to my husband and for that I am eternally grateful as I feel if you hadn't been on the line calming him down we would have needed another ambulance for him."

Gracie is full of surprises

BABY Gracie is all about the surprises.

She had a shock delivery in a Redbank Plains carpark and took mum and dad Annette and Dwayne Triffitt by surprise when the parents found out they were pregnant. Annette said she and Dwayne tried for 4 years to fall pregnant with their one-year-old and Gracie's arrival was very unexpected. "I gave Dwayne until I was 35 and said 'After that, shop closed'," Annette said.

"We married on North Straddie, a special place for our family and a month after our wedding we found out our beautiful baby girl - Abigail Rose, would be arriving in December 2016.

"Her older half sister and brothers adore her and we weren't planning any more. However come April, the universe decided to throw us a curve ball."

Annette said she found an old unused pregnancy test at home and decided to take it, for old time's sake.

"I wasn't late. As a bit of a joke to myself, I took it, expecting a negative result, having been used to that after years of trying with Abigail and on some level I guess it was closure to me for that part of my life knowing we were content with our little angel and that seeing the negative single line would no longer upset me. However to my shock, I got a positive result and nearly fainted."